Granddogs

Meet the Newest Family Member

By Sandy Robins | Photographs by Nob Narumi

Like every proud grandmother, Donna McCabe of Whidbey Island, Washington, carries a brag book of photographs of her grandchild, Audrey, in her handbag, and is always swapping news of her escapades with friends and other family members. McCabe isn't the slightest bit fazed that her grandchild happens to have four paws and a tail.

Audrey is an exquisite Italian Greyhound, with delicate features just like her namesake actress, Audrey Hepburn. Her "grandmother" dotes on her. Family dynamics today are more complex than just Mom plus Dad plus two children. Many people are divorced or opt for a single lifestyle. Others remain childless, by chance or by choice. It is a lifestyle that makes close family relationships the exception rather than the norm. Into this void step our dogs, ready and willing to accept all offers of adoration and spoiling.